Cat Hisses At Me

[Sacred Silence]

My aunt just recently got a new little kitty (only a couple weeks old) and now whenever I try and play with my older cat she hisses and me and swipes at my face. The two cats are seperated but my cat does not seem the same. I don't want her to hiss at me or scratch me in the face when I play with her.

What should I do?

[Lucky Rescue]

Your cat is stressed and upset at the arrival of the kitten, and is redirecting her anger at you.

IF your older cat has never been around other cats, it could take awhile for her to calm down and accept the new arrival.

Keep them separated for now and give your cat extra attention. Try some catnip, if she favours it as it might help relax her.

You need to introduce the new kitten very slowly to her.

Where did you get this kitten? If it really is only "A couple of weeks old" it's way too young to be taken from mom, and you must bottle feed it, keep it warm and stimulate it to help it pee and poop. If you aren't sure how to care for it and keep it alive, please see your vet.

[ace]

When we introduced our older one to the little one, we kept the little one in a separate room until the older cat got used to the smells, sounds, etc.. We slowly gave the kitten full reign of the house, but still kept places off limits (older cat's favourite places ... not allowed on the bed like the older cat is) so as not to totally disrespect the elder one. Older cat eventually retreated to the clothes hamper and was upset at us for almost 3 months. But we kept at him, giving him LOTS of attention, lots of alone time with us - and basically ignoring the kitten, as he was happy to chase his little tail for hours and hours.

Make sure you monitor your cat's feeding and litter habits for ANY changes. She's obviously going to be stressed. We let the older cat give the kitten a few bats, just so he could show his rules of the house (but never let them at it!).

I've heard of people feeding the kitten at an elevated height (on top of cupboards, etc) because older cats might not have access to those places - so as to avoid feeding issues.

Good luck .. let us know how it's going.